This is our hunger games
by mouse200
Summary: Ash is just a boy from district 11 who through out his life he has feared one thing and now he finds himself in the middle of it, the hunger games! As he fights for his life he finds himself making some, strange, friends along the ways and finds that he would rather die then have them taken away from him. Please read and review. Set before the books in the 67th hunger games.


This is our hunger games:

Chapter 1- Ash

I awoke to the wind rushing in through my open window. The cool air of the morning swirls effortlessly around me but sadly I have no time to saver this moment. There is a harvest to bring in and it's not going to do it by its self.

I live in District 11 and we may not be rich but this is my home so it's where I must stay. Here in 11 are industry comes from our agriculture, which is massive orchards of trees full of delicious fruits, fields of golden wheat dotted everywhere the eye can see and delicate cotton grown careful so that it isn't blown away by the wine. Sadly we can't eat or use it. Everything we produce gets transported over to the capital and if we are caught eating our crops we will be punished, which is usually being whipped in public. I have never been punished, well I've never broken the rules and I don't want to!

"Mum we really need to fix that window," I yelled running into the kitchen to find her sitting at the table. Her food lay un-touched in front of her, mine lay beside it but there was no time for me the eat now.

"I know Ash, I just can't afford it right now," she answered; she didn't look up at me. Her hands were shaking and I could tell she was upset even though she was trying to hide it from me.

"Mum?" I questioned her, grabbing my bag for collecting apples, which I kept on a hook in the hall way.

"The reaping is today."

I froze. I knew this but I really didn't want to think about it. The reaping is an event which has to take place every year before each hunger games can begin; it's where the tributes, the people taking part, are chosen. The names are chosen at random but the older you are there more likely you are to be picked out. This is because your name is first put in when you are 12 then every year until you are 18 your name is added one more time, well unless you add your name another time in trade for things like grain to eat or to trade, which lots of people need… we don't have much money so it's sometimes the only option. I am only 14 but my name is in there 12 times.

"I know," my body seemed to get out of its frozen trance. I don't even look back at my mother when I leave the house.

My district is massive, which is understandable because of the many fields and orchards we have everywhere here. So I have to take the train to work, which I do every morning so to me it's just my regular routine.

"Hay, wait up." I turned to see one of my best friends running frantically towards me. He's not a very good runner, he always trips over his feet, I on the other hand, well, I just the fastest boy ever but that's no big deal… seeing as I can be beaten up by girls.

I try to smile at him but it doesn't show when I see his sad face. "What's wrong?" I ask him as we begin to walk slowly towards the station together.

"The reaping's today and I'm in there 17 times." I could tell he was panicking. Fear was flashing over his bright blue eyes as he looked frantically around as if looking for a way out.

I sighed putting my arm over his shoulder. "Don't worry, you won't get picked there are people around here with their name in over 50 times."

"Still," he muttered pushing my arm off him, "Aren't you worried Ash? Like no offence dude, but you wouldn't survive a day in the hunger games."

I wanted to say something back, but he was right. I was weak. Very weak, I don't think I would even get through the blood bath right at the start. I'm so weak I can barely drag one bag of apples back to be weighed when most other kids my age can carry about 4 each!

I looked at myself in the mirror with a scowl. I was wearing my 'best' clothes to the reaping just like last year and the year before. I hated my 'best' clothes mainly because it's way too hot here to be wearing trousers and shirts with long sleeves, plus I had to tuck my shirt in which just seemed to make everything that much worse.

"Ready?" my mum asked from where she was standing in my door way. I could see tears poisoning the corners of her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall, she didn't want to worry me.

"Yes, and mum," I hugged her tightly, "I won't get picked, don't you worry." I know I shouldn't promise her that but I had to, I had to keep her strong so that if I am picked than she'll be ok. I don't have any siblings so if I go she's all alone…

I fells like forever that we've been standing here waiting for the reaping to begin. The boys were standing on the left and the girls on the right with the older teens at the front and the younger people at the back. I was quite near the middle but further towards the back then the front.

"Welcome, happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favour," a woman appeared on the stage yelling into an echoing microphone, "now before we begin I would like to show you a movie all the way from the capital." That woman sounds way too cheerful to be talking about the Hunger games.

The film was nothing but propaganda. It told us of war and how the districts rose up against the capital in an uprising. And then came peace but apparently freedom has a cost, that's why they decided that each year every district in Panem would offer a tribute, one man and one woman to fight in the annual hunger games so that the peace can be kept between us and the victor will remind us all of the capitals forgiveness and generosity. So that we can safe guard the future or something like that.

It's stupid. To fight to keep peace, it doesn't make sense but no one says that. No one goes against the capital because no one wants war. So I guess in some ways the Hunger Games is better because there's less bloodshed and loss.

"Now," She suddenly yelled making me jump, "the time has come to select one young man and woman to represent district 11 in the 67th annual hunger games." Seriously someone needs to give her a punch in the face if it will knock that annoying smile off it. "As always, ladies fist." She strolled over to the snow globe full of names, waving her hand around inside it before gracefully pulling out a name written on a shiny white piece of card which had been sealed shut.

Smiling that terrible grin of hers she glided back to the microphone. "Robyn Oak." Silence fell as the last of the echo died away into the air. The girl who had had her name called slowly made her way to the front.

I had talked to Robyn many times before; we work in the same field every day. She is taller than me with very deep brown eyes and brown hair which was a few shades lighter. She wasn't very strong but I know she can run very fast. We race each other across the orchard every day, we decided that the first to 20 wins gets a prize; we're at 19 each… I guess we'll never know who'll win now.

"And now," I jumped again, can't she speak any quieter? "The boys!"

No. that's not true. I heard her wrong. I… I can't… I can't be the boy's tribute from district 11. Ever so I begin to walk without realizing it. I pass my friend on the way; he has a tear in his eye as he watches me go. I'm scared of what is to come but I can't help but whisper, "I'm fine, you'll be ok," to him as I walked past. He tried to grab my arm but he's pushed away by an officer.

This is it. My life is over and I'm only 14. I can already hear the voice from the platform fading away from me as we speed down the tracks. I can't help but let a tear drop. I'm going to die… I don't even have a chance.

"You OK?" Robyn asks again but I continue to ignore her as I stare blankly out of the window. I didn't want to talk right now. "Ash are you even listening to me?" I turned to her now but still I wasn't interested. "Ash, are you scared?" she was shaking as she spoke.

"What do you think?" I muttered. I was never like this, I was never mean. If you ask everyone in my district they'll say I'm the nicest person in the world. I guess I'm just… completely terrified!

"Ash how many times was your name in?" She asked me.

"12," I said plainly not wanting to join this dead conversation.

"My name was in there 63 times." My eyes flicked to her in shock. 63 times she had put her name in there, but why would you do that? It just means you're much more likely to be picked and that's not good.

"I had to," she started answering my question before I had even asked it, "I have 6 younger siblings, they need food. My mother and father made me… I have to live though this. I have to get back to them or they'll…"

"Die," I finished her sentence for her not liking how panicked she sounded. She nodded looking away from me as tears formed in her eyes.

We both sat in silence the rest of the way. Both of us crying for everything that we had left behind… all the things we knew we would never see again.


End file.
